capitalism, ai, other shitty things
What I'm learning from the way investors (apparently) spend large amounts of cash is: as long as there are more resources to be exploited, someone will buy them up and use them to try to make money, however unlikely that is and however unhelpful or even detrimental the product. This isn't sustainable. So I don't blame the power consumption of large models on those who use them, I blame people willing to subsidize the expense, and the system that enables it.
capitalism, ai, other shitty things
If it's like highways (extracting resources creates demand for them), choosing to individually conserve isn't going to turn the dial. We need rules to keep society living within its means.